U.s. Protests Harassment Of Embassy Staff

November 13, 1985|By United Press International

WASHINGTON — The Reagan administration charged Tuesday that Nicaraguan employees of the U.S. Embassy in Managua have been subjected to ''abusive interrogation'' and ''psychological abuse'' by government security authorities.

The State Department delivered a formal diplomatic protest note to Nicaraguan diplomats in Washington over the ''unacceptable harassment'' that the department said occurred last week.

Spokesmen for the Nicaraguan Embassy were not available for comment.

In a written statement that paralleled the protest note, the department said that from Nov. 2-7, 14 Nicaraguan employees of the embassy were called before Nicaraguan state security authorities, many by way of midnight summonses.

The statement said the Nicaruaguans had endured intense and often abusive questioning, ranging from 6 to 13 hours, and had been forced to sit in small, windowless rooms for hours without being allowed to speak.